As a keen cyclist, ensuring that the desired route is kept can sometimes be a bit of a pain.  I know I could get a Garmin device that would provide real time mapping, but they tend to be pretty expensive.

Google have announced today however a new service for Android phones.  It’s an extension of the desktop biking directions service they launched last month, but the new mobile version will bring ‘turn-by-turn, voice guided biking navigation’ to your handlebars.

Dark green lines on the map show dedicated bike trails and paths with no motor vehicles, light green lines show streets with bike lanes and dashed green lines show other streets recommended for cycling. Biking navigation even helps you avoid steep hills (pfft, as though we want that!).

Thus far the service is only available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, so it misses out massive cycling nations such as France, Italy and Spain, although Google hope that riders will use Map Maker to fill in any blanks, so hopefully these countries will eventually be covered.